Tuesday, October 25, 2011

10/30-Gregg visits with Robert John Davi

Robert John Davi (born June 26, 1953)is an American actor and singer. He has played such roles as Vietnam veteran and Special Agent Johnson in Die Hard, the villainous Jake Fratelli in The Goonies, and Al Torres in Showgirls. However, Davi is perhaps best known for playing drug lord Franz Sanchez in the 1989 James Bond film Licence to Kill as well as Agent Baily Malone in the NBC television series Profiler. Classically trained as a singer, Davi launched his singing career in 2011 performing Frank Sinatra classics. Davi was born in Astoria, Queens, New York, the son of Maria (née Rulli) and Sal Davi.[1] His mother was an Italian American and his father was a native of Southern Italy; Davi spoke Italian during his childhood.[1] He attended Seton Hall, aCatholic high school in Patchogue (Long Island), New York.[1] He graduated from Hofstra University, the same alma mater as fellowJames Bond villain Christopher Walken. Davi was drawn to Hofstra because of the school's Shakespearean 'round' theatre.
Finally, here’s the full list of songs that you’ll find on the CD:
  1. Day in Day Out
  2. Nice ‘n Easy
  3. All The Way
  4. I’ve Got the World On A String
  5. Witchcraft
  6. In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning
  7. Nice Work If You Can Get It
  8. Summer Wind
  9. Rainy Day
  10. The Best Is Yet To Come
  11. Mam’selle
  12. Too Marvelous For Words

Davi made his motion picture debut in Contract On Cherry Street, in which he shared the screen with the Chairman of the Board himself, Frank Sinatra. Since then he's continued to work with the biggest names in Hollywood – Marlon Brando, Clint Eastwood,Arnold Schwarzenegger, Benicio del Toro, James Franco,Catherine Zeta-Jones, Bruce Willis, and Roberto Benigni, among others. He's been in such movies as The Goonies, Die Hard,Showgirls, Son of the Pink Panther, and in the 1989 Bond filmLicence to Kill as the villain Franz Sanchez, a South Americandrug lord and murderer, who was killed at the end of the film after being soaked in gasoline and set alight by Bond. On TV, he starred as Commander Acastus Kolya on Stargate Atlantis, appeared in two-part episodes of Criminal Minds, and played Agent Baily Malone in 88 episodes of his own NBC series,Profiler. In 2011, Davi appeared alongside Val Kilmer andChristopher Walken in the gangster movie Kill the Irishman. The film, in which Davi played Mafia hitman Ray Ferritto, is a biopicof Danny Greene, an Irish-American mob boss who warred with the Cleveland crime family during the 1970s. Currently, Davi can be seen in Game of Death with Wesley Snipes. In 2007, Davi made his directorial debut with The Dukes, a parable for today about how the current economic crisis is affecting the everyman. The story follows the members of a once successful Doo Wop group who, like most of the world, have fallen on hard times. The film is about chasing the American Dream, even when the reality of that dream is changing faster than you can run. It stars Chazz Palminteri, Robert Davi, and Peter Bogdanovich. The Dukes was acclaimed and was selected for the premiere section at the Rome Film Festival, along with other filmmakers such as Francis Ford Coppola, Sean Penn, Robert Redford, Sidney Lumet, and Gavin Hood. Davi was the only first-time director in the premiere section. The film was then invited to the Monte Carlo Comedy Film Festival, where it received awards for best first-time director and best screenplay. Following this, The Dukes was invited to the Alpe d'Huez International Comedy Film Festival in France, amongst others. Even as far back as high school, Davi received acclaim for his singing, being awarded first place in the prestigious New York State School Music Association’s – Solo Competition, singingVincent YoumansWithout A Song. As a young man, Davi studied classically under several of the top vocal teachers, Samuel Margolis and Danial Ferro of Juilliard and later, opera great Tito Gobbi. Davi did in fact damage his voice, claiming he was baritone with the heart of a tenor and had pushed too hard, too early. [3] However, it isn't until recently that he has become successful as a singer. With a thirty-piece orchestra, Davi recorded his first album at the famous Capitol Records Building in Hollywood (where Frank Sinatra recorded on many occasions). The album contains all new arrangements by composer Nic. tenBroek and is produced by Phil Ramone, engineered by Dan Wallin, and mixed by Al Schmitt. The album, “Davi Sings Sinatra - On The Road To Romance,” will be released Oct 24th 2011. Davi is an outspoken conservative and often speaks at Republicangatherings. He has been invited to comment on numerous political shows and backed John McCain during his presidential campaign. He narrated several film montages that aired during the 2008Republican National Convention.[4] Davi also spoke at the 2009Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington D.C. Davi is a devout Roman Catholic and regularly speaks of God or relates passages from the Bible in speaking.[5] He is a frequent guest on Fox News's late-night satire program Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld. Davi's children are Sean Christian Davi (b. 1981), with Jeri McBride, and Ariana Marie Davi (b. April 3, 1990), Frances Davi (b. 1992), Isabella Davi, and Nicholas Edward Davi (twins, born on January 11th 2001), with Christine Bolster.